A Survey of Heavy Metals in Water, Soil and The Surrounding Plants in The Lower Rio Grande Valley

Heavy metal pollution of the environment in recent years has become a major issue of importance for both human and environmental health. Samples were investigated for the potential pollution of the area as it is a vital produce producing area. During the study plant, soil and water samples were collected from the Donna Reservoir and Canal System to test the concentration of various heavy metals. The heavy metals tested included both potentially toxic and micronutrients in the samples which included arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, nickel and sulfur. During the study, a sixty day sampling period was used to compare possible changes in metal concentrations during a seasonal change. The Donna water reservoir is fed by the Rio Grande River and supplies water to the City of Donna and irrigation needs of the area. All samples were analyzed using an Inductively Coupled Plasma- Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES)

Sivuvirtojen yhteiskehittäminen elintarviketeollisuudessa : Yhteistyö ostajan ja toimittajan välillä

Elintarviketeollisuudessa syntyy jatkuvasti hukkaa eli ruokahävikkiä. Ruokahävikillä on suuri ympäristövaikutus, joten sen määrään on pyritty puuttumaan viime vuosina yhä enemmän ja enemmän. Hävikkiä, jota syntyy tuotannossa, voidaan kutsua sivuvirraksi ja noita sivuvirtoja voi daan puolestaan kehittää tuotteiksi, jolloin myös hävikin määrä vähenee. Usein tällaisen tuotteen kehittäminen vaatii yritysten välistä yhteistyötä, yhteistyötä voidaan tehdä koko tuotekehityksen ajan, jolloin voidaan puhua tuotteen yhteiskehittämisestä. Kuitenkaan tällaisten tuotteiden luomi selle ei ole selkeää prosessia. Työn tavoitteena on kehittää sivuvirtojentuotteistamisen viitekehys, jonka avulla yritykset voivat tehostaa omia prosessejaan sivuvirtojen hyödyntämisessä. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten ostajaorganisaatio voi tunnistaa uusi liiketoimintamahdolli suuksia sivuvirroista, millaisia haasteita elintarviketeollisuuden tuotteistamisesta löytyy ja mitä tuotteistaminen puolestaan edellyttää sekä pyritään ymmärtämään miten ostaja organisaatio voi osallistua tuotteistamisprosessiin. Näiden kysymysten avulla pyritään saamaan aikaiseksi selkeä prosessi, jonka avulla sivuvirtatuotteiden yhteiskehittäminen on mahdollista. Työ on toteutukseltaan laadullinen tutkimus, jossa datankeruu on suoritettu puolistruktu roiduilla haastatteluilla sekä olemassa olevalla materiaalilla. Viitekehyksen luominen alkoi teo reettisella näkökulmalla, jota täydennettiin ja todennettiin haastatteluilla. Työhön on haastateltu kuutta eri yritystä, joista kahdella oli jo kokemusta sivuvirtojen tuotteistamisesta, muilla haastat teluun osallistuneilla yrityksillä ei aiheeseen ollut selkeää aiempaa kokemusta. Haastatteluun osallistuneet ovat pitkälti asiakkuuspäälliköitä tai myyjiä, mutta myös muutama henkilö tuotan nosta pääsi haastatteluun mukaan. Diplomityön tuloksena saatiin rakennettua viitekehys sivuvirtojen tuotteistamiseksi, johon saa tiin eroteltua niin toimittaja kuin ostajaorganisaation vastuut ja tehtävät. Sivuvirtojen tuotteistami sessa on tunnistettu paljon haasteita ja huomattiin, että sivuvirrat luovat omat vaatimuksensa tuotekehityksessä. Tutkimus osoittaa, että selkeällä prosessilla sivuvirtojentuotteistaminen on mahdollista molempia osapuolia hyödyttäen. Lisäksi ostajaorganisaatiolla on mahdollisuus, niin kannustaa löytämään uusia ratkaisuja kuin osallistua prosessiin sitä edistäen.In the food industry, there is constantly waste, i.e. food waste. Food waste has a large envi ronmental impact, so efforts have been made to tackle it more and more in recent years. The waste that occurs in production can be called a side stream, and those side streams can be turned into products, in which case the amount of waste also decreases. However, there is no clear process for creating such products. The goal of this thesis is to develop a framework for the pro duction of side streams, which companies can use to enhance their own processes in the utiliza tion of side streams. The research explains how buyer organization can identify a new business opportunity from side streams, what kind of challenges can be found in the productization of the food industry and what productization in turn requires and aims to understand how the buying organization can participate in the productization process. With the help of these questions, the aim is to establish a clear process, which enables the joint development of side-stream products. The thesis was carried out as a qualitative study in its implementation, where data collection has been carried out with semi-structured interviews and existing material. Creating the frame works started with a practical perspective, which was supplemented and verified with interviews. Six different companies have been interviewed for the work, two of which already had experience in productizing side streams, the other companies that participated had no clear previous experi ence in the subject. The participants in the interview are mostly account managers or salespeople, but also a few people from production were able to participate in the interview. As a result of the thesis, a reference framework for the productization of side streams was built, in which the responsibilities and tasks of both the supplier and the buyer organization could be separated. Many challenges have been identified in the productization of side streams and it was noticed that side streams create their own requirements in product development. The re search shows that with a clear process, the productization of side streams is possible to the ben efit of both parties. In addition, the buyer organization has the opportunity to both encourage finding new solutions and participate in the process by promoting it

You can’t flight, you need to fight – a qualitative study of mothers’ experiences of feeding extremely preterm infants

Aim To describe mother\u27s experiences of feeding their extremely preterm infant. Background When an infant is born extremely preterm, there is a long rocky road for the mother if she wants to breastfeed. Some manage to reach their goals, others do not. Studies of feeding extremely preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are scarce. Design A qualitative method with an inductive approach. Methods Nine mothers giving birth to extremely preterm infants were interviewed by telephone after discharge from the NICU. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed with qualitative content analysis. The COREQ checklist was followed. Results The overall theme was “you can\u27t flight, you need to fight.” The theme reflects the mothers’ will to do the best for their infants even if the struggle with milk expression and breastfeeding practice evoked feelings of helplessness, exposure, worry and disappointment. The categories forming the theme were as follows: The wish to provide own breastmilk; For the infant\u27s best; Loss of control; and Help to reach the goals. Conclusion The mothers had a strong will to provide breastmilk to their infants but requested more support in order to be successful. Relevance to clinical practice There is a need for evidence‐based support programmes for mothers of extremely preterm infants to encourage them to persevere with milk expression and breastfeeding over time

Effect of Femoral Head and Neck Osteotomy on Canines’ Functional Pelvic Position and Locomotion

The long-term effect of femoral head and neck osteotomy (FHO) on the locomotory system of dogs was evaluated. The study comprised an owner questionnaire and an orthopaedic examination, anatomical measurements, and pressure-sensitive walkway analysis for dogs. Linear mixed effect models were used for statistical analysis. Ten dogs with a median of 2.5 years since their unilateral FHO were included. According to the questionnaire results, nine dogs had returned to a normal physical activity level. Muscle atrophy (p = 0.005), less extension in the coxofemoral joint (p = 0.003), and less static weight bearing on the FHO limb (p = 0.003) were observed. No consistent pattern regarding tilt or position of the pelvis was noted when measuring height of the tuber ischii (p = 0.39). Five of the dogs tilted away from, and five towards the FHO side when measured from the tuber sacrale with a Myrin goniometer. No differences regarding stance time, swing time, or peak pressure between the FHO and non-FHO limb were seen in trot (p = 0.70, p = 0.26, and p = 0.91, respectively). Over the long term, the FHO limb has muscle atrophy, decreased coxofemoral extension, and decreased static weight bearing. However, this does not seem to affect the trot of the dogs. Dog owners considered the outcome of surgery to be good or excellent

Saliva cortisol in girls with functional abdominal pain disorders: A randomized controlled dance and yoga intervention

Introduction: Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) are common among girls and has been associated with stress. Cortisol is one of the major stress hormones. Dance and yoga have been shown to reduce abdominal pain among girls with FAPDs. Aim: To investigate the effect of an 8-month intervention with dance and yoga on cortisol levels in saliva among girls with FAPDs. Methods: A total of 121 girls aged 9–13 years with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or functional abdominal pain were included in the study. Participants were randomized into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group attended a combined dance and yoga session twice a week for 8 months. Saliva samples were collected during 1 day, in the morning and evening, at baseline, and at 4 and 8 months. Subjective pain and stress were assessed as well. Results: No significant effects on saliva cortisol levels between groups were observed after completion of the intervention at 8 months. However, evening cortisol and evening/morning quotient were significantly reduced at 4 months in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.01, p = 0.004). There was no association between cortisol quota and pain or stress. Conclusion: Improvements in cortisol levels were seen in the intervention group at 4 months but did not persist until the end of the study. This indicates that dance and yoga could have a stress-reducing effect during the ongoing intervention

Radiographic findings have an association with weight bearing and locomotion in English bulldogs

Background English bulldogs are known to be prone to skeletal problems, but knowledge is lacking of the effect of these problems on locomotion and function. This study was undertaken to report the conformational, orthopaedic and radiographic findings in a cohort of English bulldogs in Finland and to evaluate how these findings affect weight bearing and locomotion of the dogs. Twenty-eight English bulldogs were prospectively recruited to this cross-sectional study. An orthopaedic examination, measurements of conformation, static and dynamic weight bearing, and radiographic examinations of elbow, hip, stifle joints and spine were done. Results The English bulldogs carried a mean of 67.3% and 62.1% of their body weight in front limbs while standing and trotting, respectively. Front and hind limb lameness was seen in 20.8% (5/24) and 12.5% (3/24) of dogs, respectively. At orthopaedic examination, abnormal palpation findings (i.e. pain response, crepitation, swelling or subjectively decreased range of motion) were observed in a median of one joint (range 0-5) in each dog. Medial patellar luxation was diagnosed in 33.0% (8/24) of the evaluated dogs. At radiographic examination, elbow dysplasia was diagnosed in 48.2% (27/56) of elbow joints and severe hip dysplasia in 55.4% (31/56) of hip joints. The grade of elbow dysplasia was negatively associated with the ratio of static weight bearing between the front and hind limbs (slope estimate - 1.46, 95% CI - 2.75 to - 0.16, P = 0.03) and in dynamic weight bearing the ratio of total pressure index between the front and hind limbs (slope estimate - 0.088, 95% CI - 0.164 to 0.025, P = 0.03). The severity of hip dysplasia or hip osteoarthritis was not associated with the amount of static or dynamic weight bearing, but all except one dog were diagnosed with Federation Cynologique Internationale grade C, D or E hips (dysplastic). In the spine, 78.6% (22/28) of the dogs had at least one malformed vertebra. Conclusions Orthopaedic diseases and abnormal radiographic findings were common in the English bulldogs studied. The static weight bearing of the dogs was heavily distributed to the front limbs. With increasing severity of elbow dysplasia, the static and dynamic weight bearing shifted from dysplastic elbows to hind limbs.Peer reviewe

The Finnish Canine Stifle Index : responsiveness to change and intertester reliability

Background The responsiveness and the intertester reliability of the Finnish Canine Stifle Index (FCSI) were tested, and a cut-off between compromised and severely compromised performance level was set. Methods Three groups of dogs were used, 29 with any stifle dysfunction (STIF), 17 with other musculoskeletal disease except stifle (OTHER) and 11 controls (CTRL). All dogs were tested with the FCSI by the same physiotherapist at three occasions, at baseline, at six weeks and 10 weeks, and once also by another physiotherapist. Results Dogs in the STIF group demonstrated significantly higher (P<0.001) FCSI scores than in OTHER or CTRL groups at baseline. Only the STIF group showed a significant (P<0.001) change in FCSI score at all time points, indicating responsiveness to change. There were no significant differences between the evaluators (P=0.736), showing good intertester reliability, supported by moderate to good (0.78) intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The evaluator performing the FCSI did not have a significant effect when comparing the groups of dogs (P=0.214). The 95 per cent confidence intervals of the ICC per group were 0.79 (0.60, 0.91) for STIF, 0.83 (0.53, 0.96) for OTHER 0.78 (0.64, 0.88) for all dogs. A cut-off differentiating a severely compromised from a compromised performance was set at 120, having sensitivity of 83 per cent and specificity of 89 per cent. Conclusion The FCSI is a recommendable measure of dogs' stifle functionality.Peer reviewe

Early recurrence of thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion after surgical decompression: a report of three cases

Thoracolumbar disc extrusions were diagnosed in three chondrodystrophic dogs with paraparesis of up to three days duration. All cases were managed by hemilaminectomy and removal of extruded disc material. In one dog, fenestration of the herniated disc space was also performed. Initially neurological function improved or was unchanged, but from two to ten days postoperatively clinical signs of deterioration became apparent. In all the dogs, recurrence of disc extrusion at the same location as the initial extrusion was diagnosed by computer tomography and at a second surgery abundant disc material was found at the hemilaminectomy site between the dura and an implanted graft of autogenous fat

CHARACTERISATION AND IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION OF SUPERCRITICAL-CO2-FOAMED B-TCP/PLCL COMPOSITES FOR BONE APPLICATIONS

Most synthetic bone grafts are either hard and brittle ceramics or paste-like materials that differ in applicability from the gold standard autologous bone graft, which restricts their widespread use. Therefore, the aim of the study was to develop an elastic, highly porous and biodegradable beta-tricalciumphosphate/poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) (beta-TCP/PLCL) composite for bone applications using supercritical CO2 foaming. Ability to support osteogenic differentiation was tested in human adipose stem cell (hASC) culture for 21 d. Biocompatibility was evaluated for 24 weeks in a rabbit femur-defect model. Foamed composites had a high ceramic content (50 wt%) and porosity (65-67 %). After 50 % compression, in an aqueous environment at 37 degrees C, tested samples returned to 95 % of their original height. Hydrolytic degradation of beta-TCP/PLCL composite, during the 24-week follow-up, was very similar to that of porous PLCL scaffold both in vitro and in vivo. Osteogenic differentiation of hASCs was demonstrated by alkaline phosphatase activity analysis, alizarin red staining, soluble collagen analysis, immunocytochemical staining and qRT-PCR. In vitro, hASCs formed a pronounced mineralised collagen matrix. A rabbit femur defect model confirmed biocompatibility of the composite. According to histological Masson-Goldner's trichrome staining and micro-computed tomography, beta-TCP/PLCL composite did not elicit infection, formation of fibrous capsule or cysts. Finally, native bone tissue at 4 weeks was already able to grow on and in the beta-TCP/PLCL composite. The elastic and highly porous beta-TCP/PLCL composite is a promising bone substitute because it is osteoconductive and easy-to-use and mould intraoperatively.Peer reviewe